Medicine & BodyGreek → English
Presbyopia
/ˌprɛzbiˈoʊpiə/noun
The gradual loss of the eye's ability to focus on near objects with age.
The Greek roots
πρέσβυς
présbys
old man, elder
ὤψ
ṓps
eye, sight
Literally: “old man's sight”
The story of the word
The lens stiffens from about forty onward and stops changing shape on demand, which is why the menu goes to arm's length. Greek πρέσβυς, an old man, also produced πρεσβύτερος, elder, and that word travelled through Latin into both priest and Presbyterian. So presbyopia and the parish priest share an ancestor, and the connection is nothing more flattering than age.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → New Latin medical coinage → English
Same family
priestpresbytermyopiahyperopiaautopsy
In a sentence
Presbyopia arrived the year he turned forty-five, announced by a restaurant menu in dim light.